Monday, January 28, 2008

Cider review

Late last year I made a batch of hard cider from Trader Joe's pure organic cider. Their cider is UV pasteurized (all cider sold in the US must be pasteurized in some manner), which is the least invasive pasteurizing method (adding sulfites is the worst as it actively retards bacteria growth instead of just killing whatever is already there). The bottle doesn't list apple types and it's a good bet that the contents vary from region to region with whatever local farmers provide.

I used White Lab's English Cider Yeast ( WLP775 ) and fermented a 5 gallon batch without additives. Original Gravity 1.055.

Results:

Very clear, very tart and very slow fermenting cider, it took over a month to reach a final gravity of 1.012. I primed with 3/4 of a cup of sugar, but never achieved much carbonation. The cider is mellowing nicely over time and should be very drinkable after about 3 months in the bottles.

Conclusion:

I wouldn't rush out to buy it, but if you live in a city and can't get unsulfated cider any other way, Trader Joe's does offer you a viable cider. I would recommend it more as a base for my spiced cider.

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